PRO BONO WORK FURTHERING DIVERSITY Upholding Equality in Voting Led by New York Shareholder Natalie Napierala, a team of 14 shareholders, associates, and paralegals across the firm assisted in a nationwide project by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law to document the extent of racial voting discrimination in the United States. The firm’s detailed report for the state of New York, deemed one of the most complex states of the project, will be used by the Lawyers’ Committee to determine the extent of voting discrimination in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2013 Shelby County decision, which struck down key provisions of the Voting Rights Act.
NATALIE NAPIERALA Shareholder New York 18 | MOSAIC
As co-chair of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee, Natalie seeks to foster a culture of pro bono service and continue the firm’s long-standing commitment to helping those in need.
Education Equality The firm partnered with the ACLU, Public Counsel, and Arnold & Porter in filing an application for a temporary restraining order in Cruz v. State of California. In an overwhelming and powerful condemnation of the breakdown of inner-city schools, the court adopted the novel theory of the case that failure to provide substantive educational hours comparable to other California schools in more affluent areas is a denial of a constitutional right to “basic educational equality.” Los Angeles Office Managing Shareholder Mark Neubauer and Legal Administrative Assistant Maria Rodriguez received the ACLU Education Equity Award for their work on the case, which received national publicity for its creative approach to equal education being founded on “equal time.”
Challenging the Dilution of Minority Votes As part of a broader effort to build a body of law with which to challenge the dilution of minority votes, the firm co-counseled with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in a federal lawsuit challenging a Georgia county’s district boundaries under the Voting Rights Act. After the firm filed the complaint, the parties reached a settlement under which the district map will be redrawn to create a second “majority-minority” district.
Supporting Marriage Equality Carlton Fields represented six same-sex couples who were refused marriage licenses from their county clerk’s office. With the help of Carlton Fields, those couples and the Equality Florida Institute challenged Florida’s ban
